By Brooke Ward, Food & Water Watch
With costs for everything from eggs to rent and insurance on the rise, it seems the only thing not going up is our patience for a solution. Now, to make matters worse, just as Florida is recovering from last year’s devastating, costly hurricanes, the state’s largest energy utility, Florida Power and Light (FPL), filed at the end of February for the largest rate hike in U.S. history.
FPL, one of the largest and most profitable utility corporations in the country, is seeking approval from the DeSantis-appointed Public Service Commission (PSC) to increase rates by nearly $10 billion — yes, billion — over the next four years. This hike would be on the backs of the 5.2 million households in FPL’s monopoly-service area.
FPL customers have watched their bills grow by over $400 annually in the last five years — if approved, this latest proposal would add hundreds more dollars each year. And to what end? To pad the pockets of company shareholders who’ve requested an 11.9% return on equity, well above the national industry average of 9.6%.
The last few years of utility-friendly legislation and record-breaking rate hikes have shown us that in DeSantis’ Florida, the government exists to serve private industry. When our bills go up, for-profit utilities like FPL see green. It’s why FPL was able to collect $18 billion in 2023 revenue while the rest of us struggled as the cost of living rose 8% across Florida. That same year, the Florida Supreme Court questioned the PSC’s approval of a 2021 $4.868 billion rate increase settlement for FPL, finding that the PSC’s decision lacked sound agency vetting.
When the state’s highest court questions an agency’s decision so adamantly, heads should turn. But as time goes on, we see that the PSC — charged with ensuring “residents have access to safe, reliable, and affordable utility services” — has transformed into a rubber stamp for corporate utilities’ wish lists. In the last five years alone, residential electricity bills for customers supplied by for-profit utilities in Florida have shot up over 20%.
It’s clear that the PSC and Florida’s leaders have not held the utilities accountable for the fact that fossil fuels have landed us in this affordability and climate chaos. FPL, for instance, still derives 73% of its energy from fracked gas and continues to invest major dollars in the continuation of this dangerous, dirty infrastructure. With their continued use, FPL is perpetuating the cycle of rising seas, rising temperatures and rising utility bills — and we’re paying the price.
We aren’t powerless. Things can change. We can — and must — hold the elected officials funded by the fossil fuel industry accountable and end their pro-corporate agendas.
As the PSC begins to review FPL’s rate hike requests, our local elected officials must help Florida families by passing local initiatives opposing rate increases; calling for investments in affordable, climate-resilient solutions; and setting up in-district PSC hearings where the general public can voice their concerns — a call Floridians are already voicing in FPL’s filing aftermath.
With the annual Florida legislative session underway — 60 days in Tallahassee where legislators regularly support more utility handouts at the expense of struggling families — we need our state leaders to prioritize community needs over corporate greed, to represent those they were elected to serve. It’s something the powerful House Speaker Daniel Perez, a legislator from Miami-Dade, can ensure that his chamber commits to protect from these wide-ranging, expensive decisions.
Floridians want safe, reliable and affordable electricity that doesn’t come at a cost to our families or the environment. Getting there will require bold leaders ready to stand up against fossil-fueled corporate greed. Our patience is thin — the time for leadership is now.
Brooke Ward is the senior Florida organizer with the national environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch, mobilizing people to build solutions to pressing food, water and climate problems of our time. She is based in Tampa Bay. This opinion piece was originally published by the Miami Herald, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: An FPL electric substation (iStock image).
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Great article FPL has had very little opposition to their bludgeoning request let’s check the salary of the top fpl executives then let them show justification for making more money on the backs of hard working folks